Until and unless you have been living under a rock, you must have heard of Google Allo by now. It is the messaging app developed by Google that is in hindsight a direct take on Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, the two instant messaging apps that have taken the world by storm for the better part of last five years.
These two apps sure have the benefit of being early starters in the segment and already enjoy a huge following, with anywhere over or around a billion people using them to stay connected. In such a highly dominated market, Google has launched Allo with a significantly innovative feature called Google Assistant. This is in fact a bot which can reply your questions, functioning mainly on machine learning concepts. Thus, Google Allo is set apart from its other two competitors by the efficient use of Artificial Intelligence in the form of Google Assistant, which is also being used by the Android smartphone and TV users and on Google Home page. Let us now introduce you to the features of Allo, which we think are genuinely to die for.
Sounding Better (& Smarter) at Texting
Okay, let us imagine a scenario where someone sends you something, and you really do not know what to say, Google Allo is there to save the day. Chatting with family? Chatting with friends? Use the pretty responses Google Assistant offers, and you will practically see the possibility of having a conversation without writing anything on your own. The Assistant of course suggests these responses as per the situation, or context, so let’s say to a picture of a newborn baby, it will suggest replies like “Congratulations”, “Adorable”, etc. In case you happen to send a picture of a plate full of food, the person replying you will automatically be suggested the nearby restaurants. However, while using Allo remember that Google Assistant is at the end of the day a chat bot. It basically is evolving as time passes, and learns the way you message in due time. As technology is advancing, we are hopeful it would be able to have more customized conversations depending on the user.
Using Emojis Whenever Wherever
We all know those days when we just do not want to type anything, but people need us to be on the other side of the text-box, well Allo got your back. Simply use the wide range of emojis that Allo offers and voila, there is nothing you would not be able to communicate through these super cute and useful things. You will find emojis for almost all the emotions you may have plus all the pets, events, activities and other things, meaning this will practically cover you for all the times you don’t feel like texting.
Allo Emojis
Allowing Duo Calling From Allo
Unlike Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, Allo is a platform dedicated to solely texting. However, Google provides the feature of making video calls using Duo Call from Allo itself. So, once you have installed Allo, locate the Duo icon (it will be in the conversation screen). Click on it and itl will lead you to a video call directly without having to exit Allo and launch Duo separately.
Allo Duo calling
Doodle, Doodle Away
None of us enjoys the feature of scribbling and doodling on our images, adding these extra tit bits for our loved ones, that all these IM apps offer. Allo lets you personalise your image before sending them to family or friends by drawing on them or writing.
Altering the Impact of Texts
To make the text appearing larger or smaller, there is a neat trick – you press and hold the send button and then slide up to make the text larger and down to make it smaller.
Using Stickers – Cause What Can be Better?
Allo has 25 new sticker packs that Google has developed with “independent artists and studios” gathered from around the globe. It was Line that brought in stickers for their messenger service and most popular messenger services have them now. Many of these stickers will be aimed at Indian audiences, but for most part they are more or less the same as those appearing on other platforms.
Allo Stickers
Making Stickers (Using Selfies)
Allo also lets you make custom stickers by using your selfies, and for that you have to take selfies that Google will use its machine learning tech on to analyse the pixels of the image and then determine the attribute value using an algorithm using the pixel color, shape and texture. This will be used to build a sticker pack using the images. The app will give you 22 stickers based on the selfies, but you can only use them within Allo and not across platforms.
Incognito Texting
Allo also lets you chat in private by allowing for incognito texting – there will be no record of the conversation in this mode. You can also put a timer that sets the duration of the chat after which the conversation will be automatically erased. The incognito chats are overlaid with a grey icon.
Incognito Texting
Google Assistant – Asking Away
You can also have some fun with Google Assistant. You can have a conversation with the chatbot who you can actually ask to tell jokes, recount stories, play games with and give you news headlines and sports scores. To get the Assistant directly from the chat window, you have to type @google.
So, install Allo today, have a chat and let us know in the comments below which features you liked the best.
